Turkish President Recep Tayipp Erdogan who is currently in Uganda for an official state visit has criticized the imbalanced nature of the international politics which he says lacks equal representation.
He lashed out at Western powers that have persistently dominated decision making especially in the United Nations Security Council where Africa is not represented.
In strong-worded remarks, President Erdogan opposed the idea of a few countries dictating and imposing terms on the rest of the word which to him is ‘unjust’ and ‘illegal’.
The Turkish leader made the statements while visiting Makerere University on Wednesday afternoon at a ceremony where he received an Honorary Degree of Law for his humanitarian efforts on the global scene.
“The world can’t depend on the decisions that come from only five countries. The UN Security Council cannot continue to dictate what everybody else should do or not do. They don’t have that power. The notion that it is only the strong that are just is completely wrong and in such a scenario, justice will never prevail,” cautioned President Erdogan.
The Turkish strongman is known for speaking his mind and using force to realise his country’s interests.
When the Russian warplane crossed into Turkey’s airspace, it was shot down on Erdogan’s orders.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin threatened to retaliate if Turkey fell short of apologizing for the incident. Erdogan stood his ground.
In his speech, the Turkish leader went ahead to frown on the disproportionate representation on the global political scene questioning why Africa continues to be sidelined even when it is beginning to rise as a force in global development.
“We still have no permanent members from Africa or Islamic state in the UN Security council. This goes against all principles of justice. As Turkey we are opposed to this and we shall not alter. This is our ideology much as it has often disturbed some people. We shall keep demanding for change in the way international relations are handled.”
He stressed that; “Turkey has moved from its colonial tendencies and we are pursuing a win-win scenario in a democratic way. We are going to be the givers not the takers. We have given asylum to more than 100,000 refugees even when other countries were busy drowning their boats.”
President Erdogan pledged to strengthen Turkey’s cooperation with Africa evidenced through the increasing number of embassies and Turkish non-governmental organizations.
Terrorism
He hailed Uganda for its role in countering the threat of terrorism at the regional level and called for closer cooperation in combating the threat.
He said that during a meeting with President Museveni he agreed to establish a Turkish embassy in Kampala and Uganda will do the same in Ankara – the capital of Turkey.